Mayor Menino with Robert W. Varney, Regional Administrator for the EPA's New England Office and Environment Secretary Ian Bowles announced that a draft application for a No Discharge Area was underway.

A No Discharge Area (NDA) is a federally designated area where discharge from vessels is prohibited. Even treated sewage can contain microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, and protozoans), nutrients, and chemical products that can be harmful to human and animal life and can have an adverse affect on water quality. NDAs help protect waters that are deemed recreationally and ecologically important.

While located within an NDA, boaters use pump-out facilities to remove their sewage. A list of available pump-out facilities can be found on Coastal Zone Management's website at:

http://www.mass.gov/czm/potoc.htm

Proposed No Discharge Area (NDA) Designation
Executive Summary »

Boston Harbor No Discharge Final Map »